


You Shook Me

by braezenkitty



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Dean Plays Guitar, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Frottage, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Singer Castiel, Singer Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 20:05:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9510944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/braezenkitty/pseuds/braezenkitty
Summary: The Salty Demons are set to compete in a battle of the bands, but when their lead singer drops out at the last minute, they need someone to fill in. Bass guitarist Meg brings in her friend Cas to audition and Sam thinks he's a good fit, but Dean is worried he's too punk. With the competition looming though, they don't have much choice, and Castiel is the best option they  have. Dean has to come to terms with the new lead singer and the attraction he feels towards him before he ends up sabotaging the band's chance at winning the competition.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A million thanks to my lovely artist, [blushing-bumblebee](http://blushing-bumblebee.tumblr.com/), for making [this amazing art](http://jim-kirks-third-ear.tumblr.com/post/156563807240/you-shook-me-by-braezenkittytumblrcom-art-by) and putting up with my procrastinating :D
> 
> I'm not totally happy with how this came out, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway.

_Ding, ding, ding, ding._

The sound of metal clinking against glass drew Dean’s attention away from the cute blonde in his lap. He pulled back from where he’d just been nuzzling into her neck, and laughed at Chuck wobbling on a chair with a glass and spoon in hand.

“Hey, guys,” Chuck called out when everyone finally quieted down, “I uh, have something I want to say.”

Dean turned to Sam with a look on his face that said _what’s he doing_? Sam just shrugged and turned his attention back to Chuck.

“I just wanted to say that being a part of Salty Demons has been one of the best things I’ve ever done, and Sam, Dean and Meg,” Chuck said, looking at each of them in turn, “you guys have become my closest friends. I don’t know where I’d be without your encouragement and support. So thank you.”

“What the hell, Chuck?” Dean called out. They were close, it was true, but not the kind of close to shout it out to a room full of people. “Are you giving us a goodbye speech or something?” He chuckled, but the laugh died on his lips when Chuck gave him a sad smile and looked down at his feet.

“Chuck? What’s going on?” Sam asked, taking a few steps closer to stand next to Dean. Dean pushed the blonde off his lap and stood next to Sammy.

“I, uh—” Chuck started, hesitating to take a deep breath, “well you guys know I’m a writer by trade, and singing in the band was never meant to be permanent.”

“Just spit it out, Chuck,” Meg said.

“Okay, okay. I got an offer on my book series, it’s gonna be published.”

The room erupted in cheers and Dean walked up to Chuck and drew him into a hug. “That’s awesome, man,” he said, smiling. He really was happy for Chuck—he’d been trying to find a publisher for his books for years—but something still didn’t feel right. Sam and Meg hugged him, and their friends and the select few fans that had been allowed entry to their after party slapped him on the back and called out their congratulations. Someone ordered a round for everyone.

“Thanks,” Chuck said, smiling and blushing under all the attention. For a lead-singer of a fairly popular garage band, he could be pretty meek. “Thanks guys, I appreciate it. Um, but this means I need to focus on editing and writing the next book in the series. They’ve sent me an advance, but I gotta earn it.”

“What are you saying, Chuck?” Sam said.

“I’m saying...” he hesitated, “I’m leaving the band.”

Dean’s mouth dropped open and the rest of the bar erupted in disappointed awws. He’d known Chuck wouldn’t be with them forever, but now was the worst possible time for him to leave.

“What about the battle of the bands?” Dean asked. “We just submitted our entry, the competition is in two months... you’re staying till then at least, right?”

“Dean...” Chuck faltered, “I can’t. The publisher wants the first book ready to go to print in two months. But you guys can still find someone, or Dean, you could sing!”

“Right,” Dean scoffed, “that’s not gonna happen.”

“Hey, we’ll figure it out,” Sam said, “it’ll be tough, but we’ll find a new singer if Dean doesn’t want to do it.”

“Yeah, we got this,” Meg chimed in. “This is a great opportunity for you Chuckie, we’re proud of you and happy for you, even if Dean is being a jerk about it.”

Dean glared at his traitorous band mates. Two months was nowhere near enough time to find a new singer, teach them the songs, and develop their fit with the rest of the band. And there was no way in hell Dean would be singing on stage. He sighed and sucked it up. Chuck was his friend and he would support Dean, so Dean would support him.

“They’re right,” Dean said, giving Chuck a sad smile. “We’ll be fine. But damn are we gonna miss you.”

“That’s the truth,” Sam said.

 

* * *

 

“Wake up, buttercup.”

Cas grumbled at Meg and burrowed deeper into his blanket. Well, her blanket. He technically had no possessions anymore, except for the clothes he’d been able to shove into his backpack.

“Come on, up and at ‘em, I have an offer you can’t refuse.”

“Does it involve coffee?” Cas mumbled from under the blanket. Meg’s couch had more lumps than a herd of camels, and he hadn’t slept well a single night since he’d commandeered it last week.

“If that’ll get you up and off my couch, then yes.”

“Fine.”

After a quick shower, a fresh, well fresh-ish set of clothes, some hair gel, and a swipe of black eyeliner, Cas was ready to go. He emerged from the bathroom to find Meg reclining on the couch, swiping through her phone.

“About time,” she grumbled. “Come on, grab your jacket, we’re gonna be late.”

“Where are we going? And what about coffee?”

“That’s why we’re gonna be late, because you have to have your coffee to function.”

“Okay, but seriously, where are we going?”

“You’ll see when we get there,” Meg said, herding him out the door and across the parking lot to her beat up Honda Accord.

 

* * *

 

Dean stifled a yawn behind his hand and jumped when Sam kicked him under the table. _What the hell_ , he mouthed. Sam didn’t answer, just looked at the person singing into the mic in front of them meaningfully.

She was cute, Dean would give her that, but her voice was not what the band needed. It was too soft, too sweet, too “Disney Princess”, and the song she had chosen to sing was putting Dean to sleep. It wasn’t his fault he kept yawning.

Finally the song ended and the girl opened her eyes to look expectantly at Sam and then Dean.

“Uh, that was great, thanks,” Sam said, standing to shake her hand.

“Thanks,” Dean said, following suit. “We’ll give you a call when we’ve made a decision.”

“Oh,” Disney Princess said, looking disappointed, like she had expected them to hire her on the spot. “Okay, thank you for the opportunity.”

“I’ll walk you to the door,” Sam said, glaring at Dean over his shoulder.

 _What?_ Dean mouthed, frowning at Sam. The girl was the exact opposite of what they were looking for, he didn’t know why Sam expected him to say anything more than “we’ll call you, don’t call us.” But as he watched Sam smile and blush as he said goodbye, it dawned on him.

“You wanna fuck her,” Dean said obnoxiously when Sam walked back to him.

“Dude, shut up,” Sam said, curling his lip at Dean. “It’s not like that at all, she’s a nice girl.”

“Uh huh, you still wanna get in her pants. Just try and deny it.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, but I’m an idiot who knows all his little brother’s tells.”

“Whatever. Where the hell is Meg? Wasn’t she supposed to be here for this?”

“Yeah, she texted a little while ago. Said she was running late but bringing a surprise.”

“Great, well she’s so late she missed all the auditions. Jess was the last one we had scheduled.”

 _Jess_ , right, that was Disney Princess’ name. Dean would have to remember that if Sammy ended up closing the deal.

“Well, she didn’t miss much. I haven’t seen a single singer who would be a good fit.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Sam said.

“And no, we’re not hiring Jess. She’s cute, and she’s got a nice voice, but that’s just it—it’s nice. We don’t need nice. We’re a grunge band dude. Besides, you don’t wanna mess around with band members—that’s just asking for the band to fall apart.”

“Hello, boys!” Meg called out as she pushed through the door, “I brought you a treat.”

She smirked and stood aside, holding the door open. In walked a tall guy in ripped black skinny jeans, a worn Misfits shirt, and a leather jacket. His dark hair was an absolute mess, and the tips were dyed a bright blue that matched his eyes.

“Cas, I’d like you to meet Dean and Sam, the other half of Salty Demons, the band you’re auditioning for today.”

Cas looked at Meg with wide eyes. “You brought me to an audition? What the fuck, Meg?”

“You can thank me later, Clarence,” Meg said, “now go make nice.”

Cas glared at Meg for a moment before recovering and stepping forward to shake hands.

“Hello, Dean,” he said in a deep gravelly voice, grasping Dean’s hand in a firm grip. Dean lost his ability to speak for a moment and drowned in the blue of his eyes.

 

* * *

 

“So, uh, I was not expecting to audition for a band today,” Cas said, glaring at Meg as he adjusted the mic stand. He was quite a bit taller than Disney Princess had been. “Meg dragged me out of bed and wouldn’t tell me where we were going, so I had no time to prepare. But uh, here goes nothing I guess.”

Great, the guy was one of Meg’s fuck buddies and he didn’t even want to be here. Dean glared at Meg out of the corner of his eye and settled into his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. If it was up to him, he would have called it a day and sent blue eyes here home. Dean could already tell by the way he looked he wasn’t going to be a good fit for the band.

Then Cas started singing and Dean forgot about everything but the sound of that deep, gravelly voice flowing over the lyrics and notes of _Going to California_. Why did it have to be Zeppelin? And how the hell did a voice like that come out of a punk looking asshole like that?

Dean realized his jaw had dropped when Meg reached over and tapped under his chin. He threw another glare in her direction and snapped his mouth closed. He was loathe to admit it, but blue eyes was good. And that voice was doing things to Dean, making him shift in his chair uncomfortably.

Finally the song ended and Cas opened his eyes. Meg started clapping and jumped out of her seat to plant a kiss on Cas’ cheek.

“Wow,” Sam said, starting to clap, “that was amazing.” He nudged Dean with his elbow and Dean reluctantly clapped a few times.

“Could have done better if I’d had time to prepare,” Cas said in reply.

“Alright, thanks, Cas, we’ll be—”

“Right back,” Sammy jumped in, cutting Dean off and grabbing his arm to pull him out of his chair. “Meg, join us?”

“What the hell, Sam?” Dean groused as Sam dragged him to the back office and closed the door behind him and Meg.

“Dean, we can’t let this guy walk out of here. He has an amazing voice!”

“He’s alright,” Dean grumbled, “but he’s not our style. He won’t fit with the band.”

“Really, Dean?” Sam said, raising his eyebrows and leveling Dean with a classic bitchface, “Because he just sang the hell out of Zeppelin, one of your favorite bands and biggest influences.”

“He wasn’t that great,” Dean said.

Meg snorted. “Yeah, you obviously didn’t enjoy that performance one bit,” she said, glancing down at Dean’s junk.

Dean sunk onto the old green couch self-consciously. How did Meg always know? He didn’t even have a boner, his dick had just twitched a couple of times at the sound of Cas’ voice singing one of his favorite songs.

“Shut your cakehole, Meg,” he said in retort.

She laughed. “Whatever, he’s perfect and you know it.”

“No, I don’t know it. The dude dresses like he’s straight out of an 80s punk band. And, you’re obviously fucking him, which breaks all kinds of band rules.”

“What rules?” Meg scoffed. “We’ve never had any rules, except show up to practice and shows and don’t get so shitfaced you can’t play your part.”

“Meg’s right, Dean,” Sam said, raising an eyebrow at Dean. “I might have let that crap slide earlier because you were right about Jess not having the voice we needed, but Cas has it, man. And we don’t have time to keep searching.”

Sam and Meg stared him down until he finally relented. “Fine,” he grunted. “We’ll give him a shot, see how he does in practice. _Then_ we’ll make a decision on whether he’s in. Okay?”

“Works for me,” Meg said with a smirk.

“Fine,” Sam answered, a muscle in his jaw twitching as he pushed past Meg and left the office.

“Come on, Winchester,” Meg said, holding a hand out to him. “I promise not to let my _personal relationship_ with Cas get in the way of the band, or anything else.” She winked at him as he grabbed her hand and let her pull him off the couch.

Dean just shook his head and rolled his eyes. This was going to be a huge mistake, he could feel it.

 

* * *

 

Cas studied the sheet music in front of him. It had been a while since he’d had to read music, but luckily Dean had begrudgingly loaned him an ipod that had the Salty Demons’ full catalog of songs loaded onto it. Cas had spent the entire day following the audition listening to the three songs Dean had told him to learn and singing along with them.

He was feeling pretty confident, but the way Dean kept eyeing him as he tuned his guitar and joked with Meg and Sam was making him feel very uncomfortable. The songs seemed to be the three most difficult and complex songs in their whole catalog, and Cas had no doubt Dean had chosen those songs with a very specific purpose in mind. Dean obviously didn’t want Cas in the band.

That was exactly why Cas planned to blow him away today. He’d put that cocky asshole in his place.

“Alright,” Dean said, his voice gruff, “let’s get started.”

Cas cleared his throat and set the lyrics on the music stand in front of him as Sam marked the tempo with his sticks, and then the song began. Cas waited for his queue then belted out the lyrics, doing his best to keep up and get them right. He thought he was doing pretty well, but when he made the mistake of improvising a bit with the melody Dean abruptly stopped playing and shouted for everyone to stop.

“Dude, you can’t just change the song like that,” he said, glaring at Cas. “We didn’t bring you into this band so you could change everything. Stick to the song as it’s written, got it?”

Cas just stared back at Dean, his eyebrows raised. “Are you serious? That chorus was weak and repetitive, it needs something different. Are you saying I’m not allowed to have any input at all?”

“Weak?” Dean sputtered, his face going red. “Repetitive?”

“That’s what I said,” Cas said, narrowing his eyes at Dean, “and if you want it done exactly as written, why don’t you sing it?”

“I don’t sing,” Dean growled. “I write the songs and the singer, _you_ , sings them as written. That’s what you’re here for.”

“Hey, guys,” Sam interrupted, “can we just keep going? This is the first time we’ve played together, let’s just get through the song without criticizing each other, okay?”

“Did you hear what he said though?” Dean said, glaring at Sam and gesturing at Cas.

“I heard, and he’s not exactly wrong, though I would have said it less harshly,” Sam said, looking at Cas meaningfully before turning back to Dean. “Chuck used to improvise on that part too, Dean.”

“We can fine tune the style later, boys,” Meg said, standing with her hand resting on her cocked hip, looking bored. “Can we just get through these songs and worry about the details later?”

“Fine,” Dean said, pulling his guitar back around in front of him. “Let’s start from the top.”

“Fine,” Cas said, turning back to his lyrics as Sam counted them in. This was going to be a long practice if Dean was going to keep stopping them every time Cas did something that wasn’t exactly what Dean wanted him to do. So he bit his tongue, metaphorically, and sang the song with no further improvisations. He’d just have to prove to Dean that he could sing it the way it was written and ease in the improvisations later.

They managed to get through the rest of practice with no more interruptions or tantrums from Dean, but he’d glared at Cas any time their eyes met during the hour it took to play through the songs a few times. After rehearsal, Dean pulled Meg and Sam back to the office and left Cas in the rehearsal area by himself. They were no doubt discussing whether they would keep him in the band. He tried not to fidget as he read through the lyrics again and waited for their verdict

For not even knowing about this band two days ago, Cas felt remarkably invested in being a part of it. It had been a while since he’d been in a band, and he had to admit he loved it. He could definitely use a share of the prize money from the Battle of the Bands competition too. If he ever wanted to get off Meg’s couch and into his own place he needed funds.

It also didn’t hurt that the lead guitarist of Salty Demons was the hottest fucking guy Cas had ever seen. Cas pushed that thought away before it could take hold though. Dean was probably straight, and even if he wasn’t there was no hope of anything developing because Dean definitely held some kind of grudge against Cas.

Cas just hoped it wasn’t because he was gay. He didn’t think Meg would out him without his permission, but he wouldn’t put it past her to let some clue slip after she’d had a few drinks. He slipped off the stool with a sigh and began pacing the room, pulling the ipod out of his pocket. He could at least listen to the songs a few more times while he waited.

He’d just gotten about halfway through the second song, singing along softly, when Meg emerged from the office with a smirk on her face. Sam followed, throwing a small but friendly smile at Cas, and then Dean. Dean wouldn’t look up from glaring at the ground as he walked over to start unplugging his guitar and putting his things away.

“So?” Cas said, pulling his earbuds out and stopping the ipod. “What’s the verdict?”

“You’re in,” Dean grumbled, not even bothering to turn around to look at Cas.

Cas turned to look at Meg and Sam, who were also starting to pack up their gear.

“Although we would totally understand if you wanted to decline being in a band with this jerk over here,” Sam said, nodding in Dean’s direction.

“Bitch,” Dean grumbled into his guitar case. Sam just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Sam,” Cas said, grinning despite Dean’s sour mood. “I’ve had plenty of practice working with difficult personalities that have a grudge against me, I think I can deal. I’m in.”

Meg cheered and clobbered him with a hug. “This demands a celebration,” she said, pulling back to kiss his cheeks. “Let’s go get shitfaced.”

 

* * *

 

Over the ensuing weeks, every practice session went much the same way. They’d practice a few songs, going over each of them multiple times until Dean was satisfied Cas was singing it the right way. He still hadn’t fully accepted Cas or made him feel welcome, exactly, but at least he wasn’t treating him with outright hostility.

Now he just avoided Cas completely, speaking to him as little as possible. Every time they ended up at the local dive bar after rehearsal, Dean would find a new girl to flirt with. This effectively got him out of sitting in the booth with the rest of the band, and having to interact with Cas.

Tonight it was a petite brunette with dark eyes and perky tits. Cas tried to ignore how close she and Dean sat at the bar together, how the brunette threw her head back and laughed at something Dean said and the way his eyes lit up.

Dean wasn’t doing much to change Cas’ initial impression of him as the typical, promiscuous lead guitarist.

“Earth to Clarence,” Meg said, snapping her fingers in front of his face and pulling his attention back to the table.

“Sorry,” he said, sipping his beer and hoping it hadn’t been too obvious where he’d been staring. “I’m a little tired tonight, kind of out of it.”

“Right,” Meg said, raising an eyebrow at him. “Sam was just saying goodbye. He’s got a hot date with... what was her name again? Aurora? Cinderella?”

“Very funny,” Sam said, rolling his eyes at Meg as he stood to leave. He glanced at Cas for a moment and opened his mouth, then hesitated, as if he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. Then he gave a little wave and stepped away from the table. “I’ll see you guys at practice tomorrow.”

“‘Night Sammy, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

“By which she means do whatever the fuck you want, except all the lovey dovey cuddling stuff that makes her nauseous!” Cas called out as Sam made his way to the bar to say goodbye to Dean. Sam glanced back with a grin and gave them another wave.

Meg smacked his arm. “Dude, I cuddle.”

“Yeah, about as well as a cactus.”

“Come here, you asshole,” she said, throwing her arms around Cas’ shoulders and pulling him close. “I’ll cuddle you so good you’ll be ruined for cuddles from anyone else, ever.”

Cas giggled and made a token attempt to push her off. “Ow, Meg, your prickly spines are stabbing me, get off!”

“I hate you,” she said, pressing a kiss to his forehead before pushing him away.

“Yeah, yeah, feeling’s mutual,” Cas said, grinning at her.

“So, Clarence,” Meg said, picking up her beer to take a sip, “what’s going on with you and Dean?”

“What?” Cas said, resisting the urge to glance at the man in question. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re practically shooting hearts out of your eyes at him every time you look at him—which is all the fucking time by the way, don’t think I don’t notice—and he just got an eyeful of us cuddling and sent me a death glare before turning around to chug his drink,” Meg said, raising an eyebrow and watching Cas.

Cas couldn’t help looking over at the bar, his eyes seeking out Dean’s broad shoulders automatically. He was standing now, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. After paying his tab, he wrapped an arm around the brunette and they left the bar together.

“Nothing’s going on,” Cas said, suppressing a disappointed sigh and turning back to his beer.

Meg frowned and opened her mouth to say something else, but Cas was saved when one of Meg’s frequent fuck buddies slid into the booth and distracted her. Cas finished his beer and waved at Meg before leaving the bar. He walked around aimlessly for awhile, not really wanting to go back to Meg’s apartment since she’d no doubt be heading back with her friend soon, but not sure where else he could go.

As he walked, hands shoved into his pockets to keep his fingers from freezing, his thoughts wandered to Dean. So maybe he had a little crush on the guy, but honestly who wouldn’t? With his long, toned thighs and the way he walked like he just came in after a long day working on the ranch, his broad shoulders and strong forearms, his golden green eyes, and his lips...

Cas bit his own lip thinking about Dean’s perfectly kissable, pouty pink lips. But whatever Cas thought of the way he looked, or how adorable he was when he got lost in the music while playing his guitar, or how Cas’ stomach fluttered every time he heard Dean laugh, none of that mattered. Dean was straight, and he didn’t want anything to do with Cas.

Cas sighed, pushing thoughts of Dean aside. While he’d been daydreaming about Dean his feet had led him back to the garage. Cas looked up at the building, considering, then decided it was as good a place as any to spend the night. Cas jogged around to the back door and picked the lock.

Once inside, he settled down onto the couch in the garage office. He stretched his legs out and pulled the flimsy blanket that hung over the back of the couch over his legs. The couch wasn’t much more comfortable than Meg’s, and the garage was much colder than Meg’s apartment, but at least it was quiet here. If he had to listen to Meg fucking some random dude one more night he couldn’t be held responsible for his actions.

Pulling his phone out, he navigated to the kindle app and opened up The Fellowship of the Ring. He laid back against the arm of the couch and picked up reading where he’d left off. He’d read this series countless times, but he wasn’t really tired yet and it was his favorite anyway. After reading a couple chapters he began to get drowsy, his eyes straining to see the words on the page. He turned his phone off, setting it on the floor next to the couch, and burrowed under the blanket to sleep.

He’d been asleep for a little while when a noise woke him. His sleep addled brain assumed it was the wind or something though, and he kept his eyes closed, trying to fall back asleep. He had just dozed off again when he heard a guitar strumming, and for a while he laid on the couch thinking it must be part of a dream. The soft music lulled him back to sleep.

When a voice he recognized joined the guitar, Cas startled awake. That sounded like Dean... but Dean didn’t sing; he refused to. Cas lay still, listening, and he decided if that was Dean and he wasn’t just dreaming, Dean had an amazing voice. He pinched himself, and it hurt, so he decided he wasn’t dreaming. He sat up as quietly as possible, picking up his phone and pushing the blanket aside as he swung his feet to the floor. He was drawn to the song, as if in a daze, and he had to get closer to hear better.

Cas turned the knob on the office door as quietly as possible and slipped through. He walked down the hallway, the music getting louder and more clear, and stopped just before the wall ended and led into the main part of the garage where the music was coming from. Cas slowly poked his head around the wall and saw that he was right; it was Dean.

Dean sat on one of the stools, strumming his acoustic guitar and singing with his eyes closed. Cas watched him, mesmerized. He didn’t realize he had fully leaned out of the hallway, straining to get closer, until the song ended and Dean looked up. His eyes locked on Cas’ and they stared at each other, Cas not wanting to break the silence and Dean obviously in shock.

“Cas?” Dean said, his brow furrowing, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Uh, that is a very good question, that I have a very good answer for,” Cas said, stepping out of the hallway with a sheepish grin. “Why do you tell everyone that you can’t sing? That was amazing.”

“Dude, I asked you first. What the hell are you doing here?” A blush spread over his skin though he was scowling at Cas now.

“I just needed a place to crash for the night,” Cas said, taking a few steps closer to Dean. “I’m sorry, I should have let you know, but I figured you were busy and I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Busy? Busy with what?”

“The girl? Brunette, short skirt, big brown eyes,” Cas said. “The one you were all over at the bar?”

“Oh, Lisa,” Dean said, looking down at the guitar in his lap and fiddling with the tuning pegs, “we’re just friends.”

“You seemed like pretty close friends,” Cas said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“We’re friends with a history, okay? And we have an arrangement, occasionally. But no, we’re not—wait, why did you need to crash here? Don’t you have a place?”

“Uh, no, not really. I’ve been crashing on Meg’s couch, but she ran into one of her ‘friends’ at the bar tonight,” Cas said, doing air quotes over the word friends. “Things tend to get a little loud when she has company over.”

“Wait, you’re sleeping on Meg’s couch? You’re not sleeping with her?”

“No, Dean, I’m most definitely not sleeping with Meg,” Cas said with an incredulous laugh. “Why would you think that?”

“Well, that first day, she said she dragged you out of bed. And when I made a comment about you and her being, you know, together or whatever, she didn’t deny it.”

“But I’m guessing she didn’t explicitly confirm it either?”

“Well, no... she changed the subject actually.”

“Yeah, that’s Meg. She was trying to protect me.”

“Protect you from what?”

Cas hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck and staring at his feet as he slid onto the stool next to Dean. “Dean, I’m gay.”

“You’re what?” Dean said, blinking at Cas. “Gay? Really?”

“Yeah, really,” Cas said, bracing himself for the negative reaction he always expected when coming out to someone new.

“Shit, I had no idea,” Dean said, looking back down at his guitar. He didn’t move away or look disgusted though, so Cas considered that a fairly positive reaction.

“Yeah, well I’m not exactly comfortable with being out all the way yet, so I’d appreciate it if you could keep it to yourself.”

“No, yeah, of course, Cas. But uh, why?” Dean looked back over at Cas, brows furrowed over his golden green eyes.

“Well you could say I was born that way,” Cas said with a sarcastic grin, purposely avoiding the real question he knew Dean was asking.

“No, I mean why aren’t you out?”

Cas sighed, looking away and running a hand through his hair. “It’s a long story.”

“Alright, I get it, you don’t have to tell me. ‘S’not like I’ve given you any reason to trust me or even to like me,” Dean said, his gaze falling back down to the guitar in his hands. He strummed a few notes and Cas opened his mouth to reply, but Dean beat him to it. “I owe you an apology. I was angry with Chuck for leaving the band, and I’ve been taking it out on you.”

“Oh,” Cas said, shocked by Dean’s sincerity, “um, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I’ve been an asshole.”

“Well, yeah,” Cas said, “you really have.”

“Wow, you didn’t have to agree so quickly.”

Cas laughed, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. “Truth is, I’ve been an asshole too,” he said, glancing at Dean with a sheepish grin. “I’m sorry, Dean.”

“You mean you’re not always such a jerk?”

“Hey,” Cas protested, but Dean was laughing, so he laughed with him. “No, actually, I’ve been dealing with some shit of my own lately and I’ve been taking it out on pretty much everyone.”

“Have anything to do with you crashing at Meg’s place?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t gotta tell me, but Cas, I’ll listen if you want to.”

Cas took a deep breath. It had been a while since he’d talked to anyone about this. Dean was looking at him earnestly though, like he really did care about Cas’ feelings. “Well, um... my parents kicked me out a couple years ago, when they found me and my boyfriend engaged in... well, let’s just say a very compromising position.”

“As in...” Dean started, raising his eyebrows as if to ask if his inference from Cas’ vague statement was correct.

“As in, I had him pinned to the bed and his cock in my mouth.”

“Wow, yeah, I’d say that’s pretty compromising.”

“My mom wouldn’t even look me in the eye after that, and when my dad got home from work, they told me I had to leave.”

“Shit, I’m sorry, Cas.”

“Yeah, well luckily Balthazar, my boyfriend at the time, had his own place and I was able to move in with him. Things were great until he decided I wasn’t the only boyfriend he wanted, and he gave me an ultimatum. We could open up our relationship, or we could end it. This was last month.”

“Shit, and I’m guessing you didn’t pick open.”

“Nope. I left, took the few possessions I could stuff into my backpack and knocked on Meg’s door. I’ve been crashing on her couch ever since.”

“I had no idea. I’m sorry, Cas.”

“Yeah, well shit happens. Anyway, that’s why I’m here. Meg’s not used to having a roommate, and I’m not exactly thrilled at having to listen to her exploits constantly, and I needed a sanctuary, if you will.”

“I totally understand,” Dean said, looking down to fiddle with the guitar again. He took a deep breath and let it out with a whoosh, running a hand through his hair. “I uh, well I’ve never told anyone this, but my dad caught me in the act once too. With a boy.”

“Really?” Cas said, raising his eyebrows at Dean. His heart began to beat a little faster, his body reacting to the news that the object of his unrequited crush might actually be into guys after all.

“Yeah,” Dean said, eyes still lowered. “We just kissed once, experimenting I guess, but my dad just happened to walk out back and see us behind the garage. He didn’t kick me out, but he never looked at me the same again. And any time he got drunk, which was all the fuckin’ time, my name changed from Dean to ‘faggot’. Started working as soon as I turned 16, saved up my money and moved out with Sam on my 18th birthday. Haven’t seen my dad since. He didn’t even try to stop us from leaving.”

“I’m sorry, Dean, that’s awful,” Cas said, his chest tightening in anger for Dean. “I didn’t know you were gay. You seem to always have a girl on your arm or in your lap.”

“I’m not,” Dean said, causing Cas to look up at  him in confusion. “I mean he was the only guy I’ve ever done anything with. I’m still into girls.”

“Ah,” Cas said, refraining from explaining that there were other orientations besides straight and gay. He’d maybe bring that up later, if this tentative friendship continued to grow. Instead he let it drop and smiled at Dean. Dean smiled back and they fell silent for a moment, until Dean blushed and looked away.

“So what’s the story with the singing?” Cas asked to break the awkward silence.

“Oh, well, it’s just something I do when I’m writing songs,” Dean said. “I’m not any good though.”

“That’s not true.”

“Well, that’s your opinion,” Dean said with a dismissive laugh.

“Dean,” Cas said, placing a hand on his shoulder and drawing his gaze, “you have a beautiful voice.”

Dean blushed and looked away, but a small, pleased smile spread across his face. “Thanks, Cas. Hey, I gotta get back home and get to bed. Got work early tomorrow. But uh, do you want a slightly better couch to sleep on tonight? Somewhere warmer than this ice cave? You could stay with Sam and I.”

“That would be awesome,” Cas said, grinning at Dean.

“Great, okay, I’ll just um, pack up my stuff and then we’ll go.”

 

* * *

 

After their conversation in the garage, things got better. Dean started to warm up to Cas, acting downright friendly, if a little bit awkward at times. But Cas didn’t mind. It wasn’t like he wasn’t awkward either. But they seemed to have a newfound understanding of each other, and Cas began to learn what kind of person Dean really was.

Relaxed at home, watching a movie with Sam, or playing video games with his friend Charlie (who Cas had yet to meet face to face, although he had typed a ‘hello’ to her one day when Dean was showing him the game), Dean was a completely different person. He was caring, always making sure Sam had food if he was hungry, courteous to Cas, always offering him beer and checking if he had enough blankets and if the couch was comfortable, and while still flirtatious, Cas had noticed he didn’t ever bring any of the girls from the bar home. It hadn’t been what Cas had expected of him.

Their friendship grew, and they began spending more and more time together. Dean even got Cas a temporary job at Bobby’s garage, where he kept the space clean and organized while Dean put engines back together and changed tires. Conversation flowed easily between them, like opening up about their pasts had broken a damn.

Like today, Cas was helping Dean bleed the brakes on a Cherry Red ‘65 Mustang. The car was up on the lift and Dean lay supine on a creeper he’d roller underneath the engine compartment. He held a container under the disconnected brake line to catch the fluid as Cas sat in the front seat and pushed the brake pedal down repeatedly. They’d been discussing movies and had moved on to argue about which was better; Star Wars or Star Trek.

“Star Wars has Han Solo though,” Dean called from under the car. “You can’t tell me Captain Kirk is cooler than Han Solo.”

“You only think that because you have a crush on Harrison Ford,” Cas teased.

Dean grumbled something unintelligible. “I’m sorry,” Cas said, grinning, “what was that? Were you agreeing with me?”

“I said you can stop pushing the brake pedal,” Dean called, then rolled himself out from under the car to glare up at Cas. He set the container of brake fluid down and punched a finger in Cas’ direction. “You shut up, this has nothing to do with Harrison Ford.”

“Uh huh,” Cas said, grinning down at Dean’s grumpy look.

“Would you two idiots quit yer yammering for five minutes so I can hear myself think?” Bobby growled, sticking his head out of the garage’s hallway to glare at them before disappearing back into his office, mumbling about how he didn’t pay them to sit around and talk.

Dean and Cas looked back at each other and erupted into giggles.

“We’ve been busted,” Cas said when he caught his breath. “Get outta the way so I can get out of here and get back to _my job_ before the old man fires me.” He nudged Dean’s shoulder with the toe of his boot, with just enough pressure to send him rolling away from the car. Then he stepped out and reached a hand down to help Dean up, though with Dean on his back looking up at him with a grin he had to fight the urge to straddle his lap and kiss him senseless. But then Dean was grabbing his hand and pulling himself up to stand.

They stood face to face for a moment and the air between them felt heavy with possibility. Dean sucked his bottom lip in, darting his tongue out to moisten it as he did, and Cas felt himself swaying forward. God, he wanted to kiss Dean. And Dean was looking at him like he wanted that too.

The sound of a horn honking made him jump, dropping Dean’s hand as they both took a step back and turned to see Meg’s scuffed up Honda pulling up to the garage bay door. She put it in park and stepped out, already grinning mischievously.

“Hello, boys,” she said, walking towards them. “What are you two up to?”

“Work,” Dean said drily, turning to pick up the container of brake fluid he’d left on the ground.

“That didn’t look like work to me,” she said with a sly grin, throwing an arm around Cas’ shoulder and kissing his cheek.

“We just finished bleeding the brakes on this car,” Cas said, “I was helping Dean up.”

“Oh, I’m sure you were honey,” Meg said, giggling to herself. Cas rolled his eyes and Dean walked away to take care of the brake fluid, though Cas caught the pink glow that bloomed on his cheeks at Meg’s comment.

“What are you doing here, Meg?” Cas asked, slipping away from her to gather up a rag that had fallen on the floor and to put away the creeper.

“Uh, practice? You know, for that band we’re in?” Meg said, frowning at him. “It’s almost 6, that’s when you guys close up shop, right?”

Cas looked up at the clock on the back wall. Sure enough, it was 10 minutes till 6 o’clock. He had been so distracted by Dean all day that he hadn’t realized the day was almost over. “Shit, I didn’t realize it was so late,” Cas said.

“Well, you’re lucky you have me around, Clarence,” Meg said.

Cas just rolled his eyes and began his routine for closing up the shop. Sam arrived shortly after that bearing pizza, and they even managed to get Bobby to eat a slice before he took off with a gruff, “Make sure you lock up when you’re done.”  


* * *

 

“You know, you should sing. You’re really good,” Cas said, sliding to sit next to Dean in their regular booth. As usual, they’d ended up at the bar around the corner from the garage after practice. Dean took the beer Cas slid across the table to him and winked his thanks before taking a sip.

“You didn’t need me in the band,” Cas continued, taking a sip of his own beer.

“Thas not true, Cas, you’re an amazing lead singer,” Dean slurred. The beer Cas had just delivered was beer number... four, or five maybe. However many, it was enough beer that his tongue was feeling loose and heavy.

“Yeah, I know,” Cas said, smirking.

Dean scoffed. “Asshole.”

“Thas me,” Cas answered, his own words sounding a bit slurred, “but doesn’t mean I’m wrong. You’re an amazing singer too. Maybe you can be my backup singer if you don’t wanna be lead.”

“Are you trying to get Dean to sing?” Sam said, joining them at the table with another round of beers for him and Jess. “Good luck.”

“Dude, shut up,” Dean said, rolling his eyes at Sam.

“I’m just sayin, you won’t even let _me_ hear you sing. Cas is lucky he caught you unawares.”

“Yeah, I was pretty lucky,” Cas said. Dean looked up at him and Cas held his eyes, smiling at him like he actually did feel lucky.

“Dude,” Dean said after a moment, needing to break the silence before he leaned into Cas’ space and kissed that dopey grin. He blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “How are your eyes so fucking blue?”

Sam snorted, and Dean blushed, but ignored him. He couldn’t drag his eyes away from Cas, who was looking at him with a that crooked smile lighting up his face, his blue tipped hair wild like he’d just stepped in from the oceanside. Dean was definitely drunk because everything was fuzzy around the edges, except Cas. Cas was perfectly clear, and Dean wanted nothing more than to lean forward and kiss him.

“What can I say,” Cas said, shrugging, “I guess I was just born this way.”

“Oh my god, you are so cheesy,” Dean said, a giggle forcing its way out of him. Cas chuckled and sipped his beer, though he kept his eyes on Dean.

“You guys are both cheesy, holy shit,” Meg said, walking up to sit on Cas’ other side, pushing him into Dean to make room for herself on the end of the bench seat. Jess was with her, and she sat down next to Sam. “What happened while we were in the ladies room, did you guys fall in love or something? I thought you couldn’t stand each other.”

“Maybe we just have a newfound appreciation for each other’s better qualities,” Cas said, not bothering to look away from Dean. They were sitting so close Dean felt his eyes struggling not to go cross eyed looking at him. His thigh felt like it was on fire where it was pressed up against Cas’.

Meg snorted. “Wow, okay, you all are gross and I’m gonna go find a cute guy to distract me. See you guys at practice tomorrow.” She walked away with a wave, and finally Cas broke eye contact to pick up his beer.

Dean picked up his own beer, feeling flush suddenly, and took a drink. He took note of the fact that Cas didn’t move back into the space Meg had left, instead staying pressed up close against Dean’s side.

“You know, I think me and Jess are gonna get out of here too,” Sam said.

“What the hell? You guys are all ditching us?” Dean said, acting hurt.

“I think you two will be fine without us,” Sam said, then gave Dean a meaningful look. “I’m staying at Jess’ tonight, so you got the apartment to yourself.”

“Fine, get outta here you giant moose,” Dean said, shooing his brother out of the booth. “Good night, Jess.”

“Goodnight, Dean. Later, Cas,” Jess said, then she and Sam walked away.

“So,” Cas said, leaning conspiratorially towards Dean, “I think we’re alone now.”

Dean snorted. “Did you just quote Tiffany to me?”

“Maybe,” Cas said, sipping his beer to cover a smirk.

“Dude, if you say anything about—”

“The beating of our hearts is the only sound?” Cas interrupted.

Dean laughed. “That, yes. It’s too damn loud in here to pull that line off,” he said, sipping his beer. They were silent for a moment, observing the bar around them as they finished their beers. Dean felt his stomach do a little flip when Cas tilted his head back to down the last of his beer, baring his throat.

“You wanna get outta here?” Cas asked, turning to Dean after setting his empty glass down.

“Only if you quit with the Tiffany lyrics,” Dean said with a smirk.

“I make no promises.”

“Asshole.”

“Yeah, but I’m a cute asshole.”

Dean laughed and finished his beer. “Yeah, let’s go.”

 

* * *

 

Dean’s place was only a few blocks from the bar, so they walked. The air was cool and crisp, and a biting wind cooled the heat Dean felt spreading over his face any time he met Cas’ gaze. They didn’t speak much on the walk. The streets were pretty empty and quiet thanks to the cold, and after the cacophony of the bar it felt wrong to disturb the peaceful silence.

They reached Dean’s apartment and Dean pulled his keys out of his pocket, but fumbled them thanks to alcohol and cold fingers. “Shit,” Dean mumbled, bending down to pick them up. Only Cas bent over at the exact same time and they ended up crashing their foreheads together.

“Ow,” Cas moaned, falling back onto his butt on the concrete. They erupted into giggles, both rubbing their foreheads as Dean grabbed the keys. When he stood, he held out a hand to help Cas up. They ended up standing with mere inches of space between them. Dean held his breath as Cas reached out and gingerly ran his fingers across Dean’s forehead.

“Sorry. Looks like you’ve got a goose egg,” Cas said, smiling up at Dean with his blue eyes sparkling.

Dean laughed. “A goose egg? Who even says that any more?”

“I do,” Cas said, laughing with Dean, “assbutt.”

Dean erupted into laughter again, collapsing forward and almost smacking into Cas again. Cas giggled with him, throwing an arm around his shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get inside before we freeze or you end up head butting me and knocking me out cold,” Cas said.

Dean took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t leave you out in the cold, Cas.”

“God, you are such a cheeseball.”

“Takes one to know one.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, you wanna open the door? I’m gonna freeze my nuts off if we stand out here any longer,” Cas said, nudging Dean towards the door.

“Tell you what,” Dean said, finally getting his key into the lock and turning it, “that becomes an actual threat, and I’ll help you keep them warm.”

“Oh, will you now?”

“Yeah, it’s the polite thing to do,” Dean said, shrugging nonchalantly as he unlocked the door.

“The polite thing,” Cas deadpanned, “gee, thanks.”

“It’d probably also be the fun thing to do,” Dean said, turning back to wink at Cas before pushing open the door and stepping inside. He turned to close the door behind Cas and found him standing on the porch, watching Dean with his head cocked as if he was evaluating him. “Come on dude, all the warm air’s getting out. Get your ass in here.”

Cas smirked as he stepped over the threshold, holding Dean’s gaze with something almost predatory in his eyes. Dean’s stomach did a flip and he swallowed, closing the door as Cas stepped out of the way. He turned the locks and looked up to find Cas leaning against the wall to the side of the door, still staring with that look that made Dean’s knees feel like jelly.

“What?” he asked, feeling self-conscious.

Cas shrugged. “I just really want to kiss you right now.”

Dean choked. “Uh, wha—you what?”

“I,” Cas said, taking a step closer to Dean, “want,” he said, taking another step and stopping mere inches apart. Dean turned so he could lean back against the door. “To kiss you.”

Cas stood so close Dean could feel the heat radiating off his body. All he had to do was lean forward a little bit and they would be kissing. Dean looked at Cas’ lips and wetted his own.

“Can I kiss you, Dean?”

Cas’ voice had gone low and rougher than usual, and he stared at Dean as if Dean was prey that he wanted to devour. And Dean had to admit to himself, he really wanted to be devoured by Cas.

“Okay,” he heard himself say, and then Cas’ lips were on his. They were warm and a little bit rough, but soft, and Dean felt his whole body begin to thaw and melt into Cas. Cas’ hands slid around Dean, one coming to rest at his waist and the other moving up to cup his jaw then slide into his hair. Dean felt a moan escape as he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Cas’ waist and pulled him closer.

Cas slotted a thigh between Dean’s legs and pressed, letting loose a dark chuckle when that drew a sharp intake of breath out of Dean. They’d barely kissed and he was already hardening in his jeans, and Cas’ thigh felt so fucking good he couldn’t help but rut against him.

“You sure seem to be enjoying this for a straight guy,” Cas said, kissing down Dean’s neck.

“‘M not straight. Think I’m bi,” Dean gasped.

“Lucky me,” Cas breathed into Dean’s ear.

Dean shuddered and turned his head, seeking out Cas’ mouth again.They kissed a while longer before Cas pulled back, resting his head briefly against Dean before quickly pulling away when they both winced. Breathless giggles took over and Cas draped himself against Dean, burying his face in Dean’s neck and pinning Dean against the door. Dean couldn't remember the last time he felt this good.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Dean woke to the tickle of Cas’ hair against his nose. He pressed forward, smiling and inhaling deeply as he wrapped his arms tighter around Cas’ torso. Cas made a noise that sounded an awful lot like a purr, and rubbed a hand over Dean’s bicep.

“Morning,” Dean said, pressing a kiss to the nape of Cas’ neck.

“Mmm, good morning, Dean,” Cas said, shivering a little as Dean pressed a kiss behind his ear.

Cas twisted in Dean’s arms, rolling over and throwing an arm over Dean’s waist and wrapping his leg around Dean’s. Bright blue eyes blinked up at Dean.

“So,” Cas said, “what are your plans today?”

“Well, I have a pretty long to-do list,” Dean said. It was Saturday and he needed to do laundry, wash Baby, and work at Bobby’s garage for a few hours.

“Yeah? What’s first on your list?”

“You,” Dean said, smiling and leaning forward to kiss Cas.

Cas laughed against his lips. “God, you are such a cheeseball.”

“Takes one to know one, darlin’,” Dean said.

He rolled them over and settled half on top of Cas, pressing a knee between his thighs and capturing his mouth. Cas’ dick twitched against Dean’s hip as his hands roamed over Dean’s back and down to his ass, pulling him forward and pressing their pelvises together. Cas moaned into his mouth as Dean thrust against him, putting exquisite pressure on their quickly hardening cocks.

And then Cas’ stomach growled, the sound loud and drawn out.

“Just ignore that,” Cas said through giggles, “come back here.”

They kissed again, but Cas’ stomach complained even louder and Dean pulled back with a laugh. Cas whined and grabbed at his ass, locking his thighs around Dean.

“Come on, I’m revising my to-do list. First is making you breakfast.”

“I don’t want breakfast, I want you.”

“You only say that because you haven’t had my apple pancakes.”

“ _Apple_ pancakes?”

“Yep, now come on, get your lazy ass outta my bed and put some pants on.”

“I don’t wanna wear pants.”

“Okay, fine, don’t wear pants then.”

“I don’t want you to wear pants either.”

“Cas, there is no way I’m frying up bacon without pants and a t-shirt on.”

Cas whined, watching from the bed as Dean pulled his clothes on.

“Come on, Cas, the sooner you eat breakfast the sooner I can move on to item number two on my to-do list.”

“Me?”

“You,” Dean said, winking at Cas.

“Ugh, fine,” Cas said, rolling his eyes.

Dean dug a pair of sweats out of his drawer and tossed them to Cas. “In case you change your mind about the pants,” he said. “Meet me in the kitchen.”

 

* * *

 

Dean unpacked his guitar and amp, setting up backstage for their turn in the battle of the bands. That past two months had flown by, and as he worked, he reflected on how dumb he’d been to resist Cas joining the band and how happy he was now that they were together. His voice fit the band perfectly and everything had just clicked when Dean had finally quit being an asshole and gave Cas a chance. The band was a well-oiled machine now, and they’d never sounded better. He had to admit that that was in no small part thanks to Cas.

Tonight was the night they’d been working towards. There was money on the line and Dean had no doubt there were talent scouts and agents roaming through the crowd out front. Dean finished unpacking his gear and stood, taking a deep breath and looking around. Cas still hadn't shown, and Dean was beginning to get nervous.

“Meg,” he called over to where she was sitting on an amp tuning her bass, “you seen Cas?”

“Yeah, he's around here somewhere. Said someone special was here, and he ran off.”

“Great,” Dean mumbled under his breath. “He does know we're going on soon, right?”

“I'm sure he knows. Why don't you call him?”

“Right,” Dean said, pulling his phone out of his pocket even as he started walking back to the area where the crowds stood waiting. He'd call, but maybe Cas was close by so he could just grab him. He pushed through the door and scanned the crowd, listening to the ringing through his phone. Cas didn't answer.

Dean was about to head backstage, maybe check out the back door when he caught a glimpse of messy dark hair a few feet away. The crowd was loud, but Dean shouted for him anyway. He didn't turn, so Dean took a step forward, ready to wade through the crowd and grab him when he saw a pair of hands slide through those messy brown locks and then Cas was leaning down and kissing whoever the hands belonged to.

Dean's heart sunk into his toes and his stomach lurched. Maybe it wasn't Cas. It couldn't be Cas. But then he turned around, keeping an arm wrapped around the petite blonde he'd just been kissing and it was definitely Cas. There was no mistaking those bright blue eyes and that lightly stubbled jawline. Dean turned and ducked backstage before Cas could see him staring, distraught.

God he was such an idiot. Of course Cas had someone else. All he’d wanted was a good fuck or two from Dean. Dean felt his cheeks burning as he made his way backstage. He almost didn’t notice Charlie standing by his amp, chatting with Meg until she squealed.

“Dean,” she called, jumping up and running towards him. She jumped into his arms and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck and giggling as he spun her around, his own nose buried in her auburn locks.

“Hey, Charlie,” he said, setting her down but not letting go. “I didn’t think you’d be here tonight.”

“Of course I’m here,” she said, stepping back to look up at him. “What kind of a friend do you think I am?”

“An awesome one,” he said, smiling for real. He could almost forget the twisting in his guts that had been happening steadily since he saw Cas in the crowd.

“I know,” Charlie said, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

“Did you see Sam yet?”

“Yeah, saw him running to the restroom, said he had to go before you guys went on.”

“Yeah, that’s his ritual,” Dean said, chuckling.

“Alright, I’ll leave you to get ready. You’re gonna do great, Dean,” she said, leaning forward to kiss his cheek and give him another hug.

“Thanks, Charlie,” Dean said, turning to watch her go and seeing her almost run into Cas. Cas who was glowering at him for a second before dropping his eyes and walking over to sulk by Meg.

“What the hell, dude,” Dean said, “where have you been? We’re going on in like 5 minutes.”

“I was out front,” Cas growled, “there was someone I had to speak to.”

“Oh, is that what we’re calling that now?” Dean scoffed. “Jesus, Cas, if you didn’t want to—fuck, nevermind.”

“What? Are you pissed at me?”

“No, Cas, I’m fine,” Dean said, turning away to pick up his guitar, “everything’s fucking peachy. Let’s just do this.”

Sam returned then, and the stage manager called them up to wait in the wings to go on. As soon as the first band finished, the stage crew began removing their equipment and replacing it with the Salty Demons’ equipment. Dean focused on picking at his guitar, practicing the songs.

Finally it was their turn to go on, and they walked on stage to cheers from the packed room. They got in place and played their set. Dean glanced in Cas’ direction occasionally, usually finding him staring out at the crowd as he sung, but a couple of times he’d looked up to find Cas looking at him with something like hurt in his eyes. Dean kept his eyes on the crowd then, not sure what that was all about. How was Cas the one upset with him when he’d been kissing some girl? Thinking of her, Dean scanned the crowd as he played, searching out the petite blonde.

He found her standing off to the side of the room nodding along with the song. Dean scowled at her, but she only had eyes for Cas so of course she didn’t see him. He continued playing, occasionally glaring daggers in her direction, until a few minutes later someone came up behind her and handed her a pint. She took it and turned to kiss the someone before sipping at the beer. Someone who looked an awful lot like Cas.

Now Dean was really confused. He furrowed his brows, scouring this Cas look-a-like’s face and found there were absolutely no differences. The dark messy hair, maybe a little less messy now that he was paying attention, and lacking the blue dyed tips. The bright blue eyes and perfectly pink lips, the strong stubbled jaw... this guy had Cas’ face.

Dean searched his memories, trying to remember if Cas had ever mentioned having a twin. He glanced over and found Cas’ gaze on him, though he looked away quickly, that same hurt look in his eyes. Now that Dean was thinking straight, he realized what an idiot he was. Cas was gay. He wouldn’t be kissing a woman. And he had mentioned having siblings he hadn’t spoken to since being forced to leave his parents’ house, though Dean didn’t remember him mentioning a twin. Dean held back a groan at his own stupidity and finished out the rest of the set.

After taking a bow, the band ran off stage to make way for the next band. There were more people backstage now, and Dean just caught the blue of Cas’ hair as he disappeared into the crowd. Dean shoved people out of his way, ignoring their shouted “great jobs!” and the congratulatory slaps on his back. He had to get to Cas, but he couldn’t see him any more.

“Fuck,” Dean grumbled. He turned back to find Sam and Meg. He didn’t know why Cas was mad at him, but he knew he owed Cas an apology for assuming he would cheat on him. He had to make it big, and he was going to need Sam and Meg’s help.

 

* * *

 

Cas rushed through the crowd as soon as he got back stage, putting as much space between him and that asshole Dean Winchester as possible. He wasn’t the guy Cas thought he was. Or rather, he actually was the guy Cas had originally thought he was—a typical lead guitarist, charismatic and promiscuous, and probably willing to fuck anything on two legs.

Cas blinked back tears, swallowing the lump in his throat and making his way to the bar. He didn’t usually drink during performances, but he figured he could make an acception for this one. They were technically done playing for the night anyway. He asked the bartender for a shot of whiskey and a beer, and he tossed the shot back while the bartender filled the pint glass. Cas hoped Dean wouldn’t come looking for him, even if a small part of him did want Dean to realize what an idiot he was and rush over to get on his knees and beg for Cas to forgive him.

He laughed bitterly. Dean wouldn’t do that, Cas was just another easy conquest for him and he’d already moved on with some redhead. A hand on his shoulder tore Cas out of his dark thoughts.

“Hey, Castiel.” It was Jimmy, Amelia at his side.

“Hey, guys,” Cas said, guzzling his beer.

“Everything okay? I thought you guys did really well up there,” Jimmy said, squeezing Cas’ shoulder where his hand still rested.

Cas sighed, deflating. “The show was fine. I’m not.”

“What’s wrong, Cas?” Amelia said, placing a hand on Cas’ forearm.

“Just found out someone I cared about—thought I cared about—is not the person I thought he was,” Cas said, lifting his arm to sip his beer and dislodge Amelia’s hand. “I’m sorry, I’m glad you guys are here, it means a lot to me. I’m just—shit. Not okay.”

“Where is he?” Jimmy said, an unfamiliar thread of iron in his tone. Cas looked up at him, wide eyed. Jimmy was scowling, his brow furrowed and his eyes blazing. “Tell me where he is and I’ll kick his ass.”

Cas couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. “Jimmy, calm down,” Cas said, chuckling as he patted Jimmy’s shoulder. “You can’t beat him up... not yet anyway, it’s the guitarist.”

“That asshole that’s been glaring at Amelia all night?”

“What?” Cas said, tilting his head at them.

“Yeah, I caught him giving me a really dirty look about halfway through one of the songs, while Jimmy was getting us drinks. He looked away as soon as I looked in his direction, but it made the skin on the back of my neck prickle.”

“What the hell?” Cas said, frowning.

“Yeah, it was weird,” Jimmy said. “He was watching her when I walked up with the drinks too. But he didn’t look back in our direction once I got there.”

“Huh,” Cas said, squinting in the direction of the stage where he’d stood next to Dean while Dean glared at Amelia. Dean had caught Cas’ eye a few times, looking pretty upset now that Cas thought about it. He’d been engulfed in his own turmoil so he hadn’t really paid much attention, but Dean had definitely looked upset. “I’m not sure what that was about, but I’ll tell him to knock it off. He does get pretty intense during songs, and he can this scary look on his face. Maybe that’s all it was.”

“Maybe,” Amelia said. “So, how are you doing with everything?”

“Great,” Cas said, and up until about an hour ago he would have meant it. Jimmy and Amelia peppered him with questions about where he was living, what he was doing for work, how he was handling being ostracized from the family. Cas gave them half-assed answers that he hoped made sense, but he was distracted. He couldn’t stop thinking about walking in on Dean with his arms wrapped around that tiny redhead. She’d kissed Dean’s cheek, and Dean’s face had been radiant when he’d turned to watch her skip away. But then she’d passed Cas and Cas had looked at Dean, stricken, and Dean’s smile had faded into a frown almost instantly. Why had he been kissing that girl? And why had he been so upset with Cas?

When he finished his beer, he ordered another one because he was done performing for the night and he deserved it. Jimmy and Amelia did most of the talking so Cas faked listening about the house they’d just bought, how they were looking forward to having kids and starting their own family. Cas was happy for them, but that was something he’d probably never be able to have. And even if he could have it, there would be no grandparents showing up for holidays to see Cas’ family. Because there would never be a wife for Cas.

The band on stage finished playing. It was the last one of tonight’s round of competition. The judges would deliberate now and name first, second, and third places shortly and Cas would have to go back up on stage and stand next to Dean and pretend to be happy for whoever won, whether it was the Salty Demons or not.

The announcer stepped up on stage and quieted the crowd down. Cas really should head back stage now, but he found he just couldn’t. He didn’t want to face Dean.

But then Dean was poking his head out from backstage and getting the announcer’s attention.

“What the hell, dude?” the announcer said, and Dean walked out and leaned over to speak into the microphone.

“I’m sorry, I uh—well I just have one quick thing to say,” Dean said nervously. He wouldn’t look out at the audience, instead keeping his gaze trained on the stage floor. Then Meg came up behind the announcer and whispered something in his ear. The man’s face lit up with a grin, and Meg winked at him as he handed Dean the microphone and they left the stage together.

“I sometimes get so caught up in my own bullshit that I’m unable to see what’s going on with the people I care about,” Dean said.

The redhead Dean had been all over earlier came out from backstage with an acoustic guitar, standing just behind and to the side of Dean. The house lights that had been turned up after the last band finished were dimmed again, leaving Dean in the spotlight on the stage.

“What’s going on?” Jimmy said, leaning over to speak quietly. “Is this supposed to happen?”

“No,” Cas said, squinting at Dean. “This is not supposed to happen. I have no idea what’s going on.”

Dean cleared his throat and continued. “I can be a real asshole sometimes,” he said with a chuckle, “but I want to apologize for being a spectacular asshole to someone I really care about tonight.”

Cas’ heart started pounding. Who the hell was this person Dean was apologizing to? It couldn’t be—

“I uh, wrote this song a just a few weeks ago. When I was first getting to know this person, first realizing just how much I cared, and I’m sorry to interrupt the evening,” Dean hesitated, looking up at the crowd finally. His gaze scanned the room as if he was looking for someone. “Um, but I hope you don’t mind if I sing it for you.”

The crowd cheered and hollered, clapping and urging Dean to sing it. The redhead handed Dean the acoustic guitar and Dean slipped the strap over his shoulder.

“Thanks,” Dean said, smiling at the redhead. “This is my best friend, Charlie, by the way,” he said into the microphone.

Charlie did a little curtsey, smiling out at the audience and Cas mentally kicked himself for assuming the worst. He’d forgotten that Dean had told him Charlie was a redhead. And although he’d never met her in person, he should have expected her to be here on such an important night for Dean. Charlie adjusted the microphone for the guitar and then slipped back off stage, squeezing Dean’s shoulder quickly as she passed by him.

Dean cleared his throat and began strumming the guitar. Cas held his breath. He couldn’t believe Dean was up there on stage about to sing in front of all these people, all alone. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to be up on the stage with him, taking some of the pressure off Dean and encouraging him to show everyone what a great voice he had.

He began to sing, his voice too quiet at first, but the crowd gave out encouraging applause and whistled and he gradually gained confidence. His voice became louder and stronger as he sang. Cas found tears running down his face when he listened to the lyrics and realized what, or _who_ , Dean was singing about.

He rose from the barstool almost without thinking, and took a step toward the stage. He stopped though, not wanting to distract Dean. He stopped a few feet away, behind a couple of people. Dean was singing with his eyes closed.

The guitar faded out gradually into silence, and Dean opened his eyes, looking around the crowd as they clapped and cheered. Cas nudged the people in front of them and pushed past. He reached the stage and jumped up, and Dean turned to him, surprise in his eyes.

“Hello, Dean,” Cas said, standing rigid now that he was actually on the stage with Dean looking up at him with apprehension clouding his brilliant green eyes.

“Hey, Cas,” Dean said.

Cas rushed forward into Dean’s space and cupped his face in his hands. “You are an asshole, Dean Winchester,” Cas said, looking deep into Dean’s eyes, “but so am I. I’m sorry, Dean.”

Then he leaned forward and kissed him. Dean wrapped his arms around Cas’ shoulders and pulled him close, melting into the kiss and squishing the guitar between them. Dean pushed it around on the strap so it was out of the way, and they clung to each other kissing and muttering apologies and words of endearment against each other’s lips. The crowd was cheering, and someone wolf-whistled. Cas pulled back, waving to the audience in apology with a sheepish grin, then grabbed Dean’s hand and pulled him off stage.

Sam and Meg had to physically pull them apart and drag them back onstage for the announcement of the winners. The announcer called out the third place winner, then the second, and Salty Demons were neither. Dean looked over at Cas and smiled, not caring that they didn’t win as long as he had Cas by his side.

But then Meg was slapping his shoulder, and he noticed Sam had moved up to the microphone and was thanking the crowd. “We won, you idiot,” Meg said, smiling then moving to hug Sam as the audience cheered.

Dean laughed, and looked back to Cas, finding him smiling his wide, gummy smile and laughing along with Dean. Dean noticed Sam and Meg motioning to them out of the corner of his eye, trying to get them up to the microphone, but Dean ignored them in favor of pulling Cas against him and kissing him again. Having Cas in his arms was better than winning any award.

 


End file.
